Glendalough Distillery remained loss-making before Canadian takeover

Glendalough Distillery made a loss of more than €361,000 in the last full financial year before Canadian-owned alcoholic beverage group, Mark Anthony Brands International, took control of the company.

Accounts recently filed with the Companies Registration Office show that Glendalough Irish Whiskey Limited increased its loss-making position by almost €60,000 in the 15 months to March 31st, 2019, compared to the shorter 12 month period that preceded it.

Mark Anthony Brands International bought the remaining 60 per cent stake it did not own in the company in December for a reported €12 million. The payout represented a windfall for local investors and former Irish rugby captain Brian O’Driscoll, who is believed to have received more than €326,000 for his stake in the spirits group.

Founded in 2011, Glendalough produces whiskey and gin from a distillery in Newtownmountkennedy, Co Wicklow. It is the third-biggest premium gin brand in the country and recently signed a deal with Coca-Cola HBC Ireland to distribute its products.

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Led by Davin Nugent, Mark Anthony Brands International was established in Dublin in 2014. It focuses on the development and distribution of projects including White Claw Hard Seltzer, an alcoholic sparkling water that was created here and is available in international markets. It is understood the company is pleased with growth in the Glendalough business and is in the process of expanding its distribution into more markets globally.

It employs 15 staff in Dublin, with plans to double its headcount this year. The Irish entity is part of the Mark Anthony family of companies based in Vancouver and founded by Anthony von Mandl.

Glendalough itself employed 12 staff in the period and paid its three directors remuneration of €290,947.

The company also said in its accounts that a loan of €700,000 is owed to a credit institution. The loan, secured on certain whiskey stocks of the company, carries an 8 per cent interest rate and is repayable by November 21st, 2023.